BOSSIER CITY MAN SENTENCED FOR RUNNING AN INTERNET GAMBLING OPERATION

SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced Wednesday that Terry Lee Doty Jr., 34, of Bossier City, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr., to three years of probation and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for operating an illegal internet sports gambling site.

Doty pleaded guilty in April 2013, to one count of transmission of wagering information, a federal felony offense. According to FBI testimony presented at the guilty plea, Doty was the local administrator for an internet sports gambling site based in Costa Rica. Doty had approximately 280 clients placing sports bets with him, one of which was an undercover FBI agent.

“Sports gambling on internet websites is no different than bookmaking operations run by traditional ‘pay phone’ bookies,” Finley stated. “Gambling on sporting events is strictly regulated, but unregulated internet sports books preclude any meaningful control of gambling and avoid compliance with the law. That is why it is important that we enforce federal gambling laws.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Louisiana State Police conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Flanagan prosecuted the case.